STAFF REPORT

June 5, 2002

To: Planning and Transportation Committee

From: Commissioner of Urban Development Services

Subject: Garrison Creek Linkage Project Status Report The Waterfront to north of St. Clair Avenue West, between Lansdowne Avenue and Spadina Avenue Wards 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21

Purpose:

This report presents for Council’s information an overview of the Garrison Creek Linkage Project and accomplishments to date, and outlines possible future activities. Since the previous report on the project in 1998, the City has initiated a number of studies that will provide further opportunities for Garrison Creek linkage improvements in the future.

The former Garrison Creek ravine lands, now only partly visible, form a series of parks. The initiative aims to reconnect open spaces along the creek’s alignment in a continuous system extending from north of St. Clair Avenue to Fort York and the Waterfront (see Attachment 1).

City Council’s Protocol for discussion of planning matters calls for the routing of issues through the Planning and Transportation Committee, if they are of city-wide interest or are located within the boundaries of more than one Community Council. The Garrison Creek’s alignment spans three Community Council boundaries ( , Humber York and Midtown).

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of this report. As part of the established annual budgetary practices, selected projects are identified and co-ordinated between Departments. The project promotes the careful allocation of limited municipal capital dollars by ensuring that regularly programmed expenditures on Parks, Works and Urban Design infrastructure in this area also assist in realizing a more connected open space system. The community will continue to raise funds and initiate projects that augment the City’s efforts.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that this report be received for information. Background:

Garrison Creek, named for the fort and garrison strategically located at its mouth, was the largest ravine between the Humber and Don Rivers. At the end of the 19th century the creek was buried to facilitate settlement interests. Today isolated parks remain along the alignment of the former creek and it is the intent of this project to renew linkages among these green spaces.

The project is based on a community initiative that began in 1994 with the formation of the “Garrison Creek Community Project”, an incorporated non-profit organization made up of volunteers from Garrison Creek neighbourhoods. Since then, the initiative has continued as a citizen-run movement, with the project’s Garrison Creek Steering Committee spearheading the community’s efforts. In 1996 the (former) City of Toronto, with input from the community group, created the Garrison Creek Linkage Plan which was subsequently endorsed by City Council. It is a comprehensive civic improvement strategy that represents an important link in the city-wide open space system.

The civic improvements cross municipal Departments and are to be implemented over time at locations along or in the vicinity of the former creek alignment. The linkages may occur in, through and along existing and new parks, public streets and lanes, and other forms of open spaces. The strategies involve restoring natural and historical features of the lost creek, marking the course of the creek through displays and public art, and creating a continuous green pedestrian and bicycle route to Fort York and the parks and pathways along the waterfront.

Comments:

The following discussion provides a summary of the project’s collaborative process, current City initiatives related to the project, accomplishments to date and possible future activities. The planning and implementation process has worked very well and has achieved a number of improvements. There are several important City initiatives currently underway that will provide opportunities to recognize the significance of the former Garrison Creek, and to develop critical linkages that will also achieve another major City objective of connecting neighbourhoods with the waterfront.

Garrison Creek Linkage Project Process

The Garrison Creek Linkage Project is a model of a co-ordinated partnership between municipal Departments and the community. It joins together the initiatives of Works and Emergency Services, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, and Urban Development Services and integrates land use, environmental, cultural and infrastructure planning to maximize their positive impacts.

The community-based Garrison Creek Steering Committee develops ideas and initiatives for the project. The Committee’s activities are based on an action plan that includes: upgrading key parks along the Garrison alignment; strengthening links between parks and public open spaces; renewing the Garrison watershed and local environment; recovering lost heritage; and mobilizing the Garrison community. To co-ordinate efforts and facilitate implementation, Councillor Joe Pantalone has been chairing regular discussions with members of this Committee and City staff.

With input from the Steering Committee and the public, the Parks and Recreation Division develops and implements improvements within the Garrison Creek parks system. Projects identified as priorities are allocated capital funding, and consultation and design work are undertaken. Although the parks vary in character, use and programming, common design elements are introduced where appropriate to interpret the Garrison Creek theme.

The primary focus of Works and Emergency Services’ involvement in the project is to review potential opportunities to enhance streets within the former Garrison Creek area to support linkages within the system. Streets within the area that have been identified by Transportation Services for reconstruction purposes are reviewed technically to determine if elements such as pavement narrowings, sidewalk widenings, bicycle lanes and tree plantings can be incorporated.

Urban Development Services support the Garrison Project by providing input into planning and design processes for both system-wide and specific project initiatives. The Department’s Urban Design budget has supported streetscape improvements including Garrison Creek marker installations and other visual amenities.

The Culture Division of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism is also involved in the project. The Waterfront Culture Plan identifies Garrison Creek as a cultural corridor. Staff will be seeking partners from the community and the private sector in the future development of this corridor.

Current City Studies

The Garrison Creek Linkage Project supports the principles of several recent City policy and planning initiatives. The Official Plan notes the significant contribution of parks and ravines to the physical structure of the city’s green space system, and states a desire to protect, enhance and restore links within and between elements of this system. The Central Waterfront Part II Plan principles point to the compelling need to remove barriers and make connections to the waterfront and to build a network of spectacular waterfront parks and public spaces. The Bathurst/Strachan and Garrison Common North Secondary Plans include as major objectives additional north-south open space linkages.

Canada’s Urban Waterfront - the Waterfront Culture and Heritage Infrastructure Plan - identifies Garrison Creek/Garrison Common as one of seven “corridors” that link the culture and heritage resources of the city with those of the water’s edge. The north-south Garrison Creek corridor is an important cultural landscape in the city and provides opportunities to rediscover a buried ravine and to connect military and natural heritage.

Other major City initiatives that provide opportunities to create key linkages within the Garrison Creek system include the Fort York and Garrison Common - Parks and Open Space Design and Implementation Plan, the Front Street Extension Class Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Design Study, and the Toronto Bike Plan. The Fort York and Garrison Common Plan provides opportunities for public space linkages within and to the fort area, and the interpretation of the area’s natural and cultural history. As a related future initiative Heritage Preservation Services staff will be reviewing the boundaries of the Fort York Heritage Conservation District.

The Plan encourages the recovery and expression of the original Lake shoreline and Garrison Creek alignment. Garrison Creek originally flowed into the lake at a point just east of Bathurst Street in the lands known as Blocks 32 and 36 of the West (east of Bathurst Street and south of the rail corridor). These blocks are critical locations that provide opportunities to mark the mouth of the Garrison Creek in ways that emphasize its special historical significance, while balancing other needs including affordable housing.

One of the major strategic initiatives for the Garrison Creek project is a future land bridge connection across the rail corridors to link Fort York and Garrison Common with Stanley Park and the Garrison Creek system to the north. At its meeting of November 6, 7 and 8, 2001 with respect to the Fort York and Garrison Common Parks and Open Space Design and Implementation Plan, City Council directed, among other matters, that the urban design and landscape plans for the Front Street Extension be developed concurrently as the project proceeds, and that specific attention be given to the land bridge and open space corridor portions of the Fort York and Garrison Common Plan. Works and Parks staff are working co-operatively to develop plans for the Front Street Extension and are giving further consideration to possible open space linkage opportunities. The Front Street Extension study is expected to be completed by the end of 2002.

Through the Harbourfront park development process, Parks and Recreation staff are exploring opportunities to mark and interpret the existing Garrison Creek sewer outfall at the Portland Street slip and provide additional connections to the north.

The Toronto Bike Plan has incorporated the Garrison bike route as an integral component of the proposed city-wide bikeway network. This route will closely follow the walking route and provide separate cycling facilities where conditions warrant. The Garrison bike route will be developed in stages with the implementation of the Toronto Bike Plan.

Summary of Garrison Creek Linkage Project Accomplishments

Since the project’s inception many initiatives have been completed through the work of the Steering Committee and the City. A brief overview of accomplishments is provided below. Activities may be characterized as belonging within one or more of the following broad categories: systems planning; park projects; streetscape improvements; and community outreach (please see Appendix A for a detailed list prepared by the Steering Committee).

The Steering Committee has developed a “Master Plan” or Concept Plan (Attachment 2) that provides the basis for evaluating potential connection opportunities. The Committee has also developed a Street Furniture Master Plan to ensure a co-ordinated design approach and has contributed to other special studies. Projects have been undertaken within several Garrison parks including Bickford, Harbord, Christie Pits, , George Ben/Fred Hamilton and Trinity-Bellwoods Parks. The types of improvements implemented to date are related to elements such as walkways, lighting, plantings, signage, entrance improvements, and naturalisations that provide passive recreation opportunities and wildlife habitat. A water feature has also been introduced in conjunction with renovations to the Trinity Recreation Centre.

To emphasize linkages a number of streetscape improvements have also been implemented along the Garrison route. These treatments include road narrowings and sidewalk widenings, bicycle lanes and routes, street trees, bronze “Garrison Creek” markers and public art installations. Major interpretive features in the form of bronze maps have also been introduced at strategic locations. A signed “Garrison Creek Discovery Walk” has been created within the system.

Building on their previous efforts, the Steering Committee has renewed its strategic planning activities to distill the project’s overall vision, objectives and priorities, and to give additional visibility to the project. Through the expertise and generosity of a volunteer consultant, Jacoline Loewen of Strategy International, the Garrison Creek Steering Committee held a strategic planning session in April, 2002. Participants identified needs and opportunities related to the project. The Committee’s next steps are to confirm the vision and to develop short, medium and longer-term goals and strategies consistent with that vision.

Finally, Garrison Creek Steering Committee members have been very actively involved in communications and community outreach and have undertaken numerous consultations with residents in Garrison neighbourhoods. The Committee has developed a web site and has produced a brochure, CD ROM and video. The Committee has held many bicycle and walking tours along the Garrison route and with other partners has participated in local neighbourhood improvement activities such as schoolyard greenings.

Current and Potential Future Projects

The potential projects currently being explored by the Garrison Creek Steering Committee and the City of Toronto include:

1. Major Strategic Initiatives

- landscaped land bridge to connect Fort York and Garrison Common with the Garrison Creek system to the north, and to create other strategic open space linkages in this area;

- mouth of the Garrison recognition and interpretation (Block 36);

- development of a plan to include methods of achieving linkages at strategic locations and identifying and implementing design elements that support the systems planning approach (e.g. through co-ordinated streetscape, signage and plantings); 2. Other Parks and Open Space Development Initiatives

- development of the Ossington/Shaw park north of Dupont Street and the railway tracks;

- park entrance improvements (e.g. Christie Pits; Trinity-Bellwoods Park at );

- walkway improvements, e.g. the extension of St. Hilda’s walk to Gibson House in Trinity-Bellwoods Park; park promenades (e.g. Harbord Park);

- interpreting the Creek outfall at the Portland Street slip, and connecting it to the north;

- additional plantings and other improvements within parks;

- school yard greenings and plantings (e.g. St. Raymond’s School planter boxes);

3. Streetscape and Design Initiatives

- Ossington/Dupont intersection modifications through Urban Design civic improvements;

- northern extension of Discovery Walk from Christie station to the two sources of the Creek north of St. Clair Avenue West;

- additional connecting street improvements, e.g. Delaware Avenue, Pendrith Lane;

- Ossington Avenue railway underpass mural;

- Delaware Avenue street narrowing and tree plantings;

- installation of Creek markers and public art; opportunities exist to explore a wide variety of possible plant and animal forms;

- Montrose Avenue bicycle lane and pedestrian path linking Bickford Park to Christie Pits via a new traffic control signal at the West and Montrose Avenue intersection;

4. Community Involvement Initiatives

- Steering Committee’s ongoing work in membership development, community outreach, fundraising, partnering with groups that have related objectives; and

- possible public art competitions to design Garrison Creek related installations. Conclusions:

The Garrison Creek Linkage Project has developed both a plan and a process that is community based and functionally related to the work programs of several City Departments. A number of significant improvements have been achieved to date. Many new, strategic opportunities now exist to create a continuous open space system between the Garrison headwaters north of St. Clair Avenue West and the city’s waterfront, and to realize the environmental, recreational, cultural and heritage resource potential of the system.

Contact:

Catherine Cieply, Planner, West Section Telephone: 416-392-7622 Fax: 416-392-1330 E-Mail [email protected]

List of Attachments:

Attachment 1: Garrison Creek Linkage Project Attachment 2: Garrison Creek Steering Committee Master Plan Appendix A: List of Accomplishments Prepared by the Garrison Creek Steering Committee

Appendix A List of Accomplishments Prepared by the Garrison Creek Steering Committee

Planning

- Community meetings (pre and post-Linkage Plan)

- Christie Pits, Bickford/Harbord, Hamilton/Ben, Trinity- Bellwoods, Stanley Park

- Detailed system map; GIS inventory of natural and built features

- Garrison Creek Linkage Plan, 1998

- Garrison Creek Master Plan, 2000

- Regular Meetings with City Staff on Linkage Plan

Planning/Special Studies

- Street Furniture Master Plan - Contributions to Fort York, Setting it Right and Fort York – Garrison Common Parks and Open Space Design and Implementation Plan

- Parks Master Plans (Christie, Bickford/Harbord, Dufferin Grove, George Ben/Fred Hamilton, Trinity Bellwoods/St. Hilda’s Walk)

- Demonstration of Non-Structural Stormwater Management Practices

Parks

- Discovery Walk signage programme

- Tree plantings

- Entrance and Path Improvements

- Ossington/George Ben foot path, St. Hilda’s Walk and Bickford and George Ben trail improvements

- Entrances: Stanley, Trinity-Bellwoods, Bickford Parks

- Rainwater Pond Demonstration Project – Trinity Recreation Centre - Bronze creek features, ferns, leaf inserts, Garrison Creek maps

Streetscapes

- Street narrowing, sidewalk widening and tree plantings (Crawford Street, Gladstone Avenue, Oakwood Avenue, Ossington Avenue, Argyle Street, Walnut Street)

- Memory Banks public art (Crawford/Montrose)

- Bronze creek markers and creatures (St. Clair Avenue West, Alberta Avenue to Lauder Avenue, Walnut Street)

- Christie Subway Station improvements

- Bathurst Quay commemorative art project

Communications, Outreach & Advocacy

- Video (School of Landscape Architecture/University of Toronto)

- Brochure (pre-Linkage Plan) and newsletters

- Communications Package, CD-ROM and Web Site (launch early in 2002) - School presentations and outings

- Schoolyard greening

- Front Street Review Committee

Future Accomplishments

- Fundraising for major projects

- Parks/public space improvements (Christie, Trinity-Bellwoods, and others)

- Linkages (bike paths, parkettes/street greening, laneways)

- Community Projects

- Membership development, Advocacy on key Garrison issues